TREND 4: CO-CREATION

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How will tomorrow's companies work? The key to success is collaboration and total transparency. This is one of the most prominent trends that we can read about in Kinnarps major TREND REPORT 2015.

We all have at some time used expletives about a product we have purchased and thought that "we could make a better go of it ourselves". This day is not far off! Companies are starting to realise more and more how important it is to involve consumers in the production process. For instance Nokia who released 3D printing software files to encourage customers to design and make their own phone cases. Or what about Kickstarter, where anyone can pitch an idea and raise funding for it from the masses. The days of companies trying to hide their methods of production behind closed doors are a thing of the past. Instead companies and customers collaborate to drive the design process. This will also of course change and place entirely new demands on our workplaces.

"Building a modern workplace is an extensive process for the entire company. To build a collaborative organisation you need to nurture a collaborative culture. There's no simple formula, the challenge we face is taking all facets of a company and tailoring spaces accordingly. Organisation, technology and leadership must play a part in the process," says Per-Arne Andersson, CEO at Kinnarps.

As a result, staff will be involved in the design of their own workplace in an entirely different manner. How do we behave? Where do we meet? How do we move about? How do we work and how can we work smarter? Special project rooms will be set up and the whole image of the hard-working white-collar employee, toiling away for hours alone with the entire success of the company firmly placed on their shoulders, will be eradicated as it will become much easier to share work files with each other. An example is Google's and HP's much talked about collaboration platform Virtual Room. Information will flow more fluently between staff members. More people can work on the same document at the same time based on the premise, "if you start it I can continue on with it". This creates overall a more flexible and effective company with both happier customers and staff. And it's always nicer to have a mutual objective!